RENT the movie: One Year Later? Your thoughts...

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:38pm

For those of us who've been on the boards for a while, one of the most memorable "episodes" revolved last year around Anthony Rapp's presence on this board in the weeks leading up to the release of the film version of RENT, and what I can only call "fall out" between die hard supporters and rabid disenters.

I personally stated, at the time, that I believed Rapp's presence on the board created a fairly irrational loyalty and that opinions on the film would become more tempered with time.

And so my question is mostly for the people who spoke passionately about the film last year. Has time (and dvd viewings) changed your opinion, or do you still feel the way you did last Thanksgiving when it was first released? I'm mostly intrigued because a lot of the reviews of DREAMGIRLS now make reference to RENT as a huge financial/artistic failure, even though some of the reviews at the time were decent.

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:40pm

Does Anthony still post here?

[Fenchurch]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:40pm

I didn't care for the movie when I saw it, but upon repeated viewings, I really think it's a masterpiece.

The mise is excellent and for Tango Maureen alone, it was worth it.

Im glad that it was preserved in such a good way. Something changed, but nothing to kill the spirit of the piece and Im very happy that it will be around for generations to come.

[outovfashion07]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:41pm

I still love the movie for what it is. While it no where near captures the show (nothing ever will be able to) it still manages to share the spirit and the message that the show IS.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:42pm

I don't think so. I may be wrong, but I think the studios asked him to stop posting here (remember that whole controversy about Munk "rewriting" his negative review after talking to Anthony?)

[dramaqueen2]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:43pm

i still think it was pretty terrific, my only tiff was that i wish it could've/would've/should've reached more people. especially since making it into a movie gave the creative team a wonderful and rare oppurtunity to move the masses with this beautiful and true message the show carries with it.
the message is a really strong one [but not as strong in the movie as in the show, IMO] that i feel needs to reach more people in our society today.

[Type_A_Tiff]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:44pm

(remember that whole controversy about Munk "rewriting" his negative review after talking to Anthony?)

I don't. What happened?

Anyway, I didn't buy the hype before it was released, didn't care for it when it was released, and now, with a second viewing on DVD, I still think it's flawed but if anything, I don't dislike it as much as I did one year ago, perhaps because the rabid - and biased - board-"acclaim" seems so long ago.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:45pm

In a wierd way, I think the film works better on a television screen. One of the complaints I had with it on the big screen was that it felt like a television movie...

[sweeneytodd2]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:49pm

It was completely ridiculous to have characters speak some lyrics. I would have much rather it been rewritten to normal dialogue.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:50pm

I got the DVD pre-viewed from the local video store....still haven't gotten around to watching it.

[Marlene]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:54pm

I saw it during a preview, and then one (or was it twice?) when it was officially released. I throughly enjoyed it and took it for what it was--totally in love with the Tango Maureen.

I own the DVD, but honestly have sat through another two viewings of the movie, once when I received the DVD for a birthday present, and again with the parentals. I've gone back to watch all the commentaries and certain scenes over and over again...but that's about it.

Honestly, the reviews at the time were really mixed. Most of them were mediocre at most, a few glowing reviews that were quickly ate up by members of the board. As for being influenced with the Rapp factor...eh.

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:56pm

I agree that it does work better at home. There's a certain intimate TV movie quality to it that was lost on a HUGE enormous big movie theater screen. Same thing happened with the film-version of the musical version of THE PRODUCERS. Even with it's large-scale production value, it works incredibly well at home. Though I have a 50-inch widescreen HD-TV which is pretty close to a small-scale movie theater screen, it is still home-bound enough to embrace the intimacy of both films.

Can't wait to see how DREAMGIRLS works 'at home' next week.

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 10:58pm

I still love the movie for what it is. While it no where near captures the show (nothing ever will be able to) it still manages to share the spirit and the message that the show IS.

I agree with you 100%. It was not like the show in terms of tone at all, But I still respect it, and Chris Columbus had reasoning behind everything he did, and I respect his choices. I still, to this day, enjoy this movie.

Although, after I had gotten the DVD, I did realize the problems with it, although I have come to accept them because no movie is perfect.

Updated On: 12/30/06 at 10:58 PM

[blaxx]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:00pm

It just didn't translate well to screen at all, that's it. Who knows if someone could've done it better, but the material was simply not well adapted.

[*brina-doll*]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:00pm

When it first came out, I can't tell you how wonderful I thought it was. It opened my eyes to the musical theatre world, and it also introduced me to singers/actors I had never heard of before. So after a year of it being released, I feel that yes, there are some flaws here and there, but overall it's still a pretty good film that I enjoy.

[sally1112]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:03pm

I like the movie, and I wanted to love it, as I love the play, but it just didn't happen.
I watched the DVD when it first came out, and I liked it better, because I was over my initial dissapointment. When watching the DVD I was able to just accept the movie for what it is.

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:05pm

I don't believe Anthony hasn't posted here for quite some time, although I don't know if that was in direct response to the studio's complaints.

At any rate, thank you Michael Bennett for starting this thread. I expect to hear a lot of interesting opinions and perspectives.

All in all, I like the film quite a bit less than I did a year ago. I have to give the movie credit for reinvigorating my admiration of Rent and musical theatre in general. In fact, I think it did this to an extent that I made me blind to a lot of the film's flaws upon my original viewing. I blame this partially on the fact that the one and only time I had seen Rent on stage prior to the film was with a very mediocre cast; the movie, complete with an obviously very strong cast, initially felt like a blessing. Now, having seen the stage show multiple times with a stronger cast, it's hard for me to accept the movie as something that captured the true essence of the show. Part of this is because it's nearly impossible to capture the true essence of Rent on film, and part of this is because, I believe, the film was decent in spite of Chris Columbus rather than aided by his presence as director. It's not even that he made this one cut or had rhyming dialogue in certain parts or the fact that Roger is on a cliff, and I think it's unfair to say that if they had kept April's suicide or Goodbye Love or whatever it may be in the film, it would have been amazing. Of course the addition of those scenes (among others) would have helped the film, but there's something somewhat indescribable that is on the stage at the Nederlander (when Rent is done the way it should be) that just was not captured in the movie.

I still feel the movie is good (not able to slap the "great" label on it anymore) and by no means bad, but I feel it's that way by virtue of the source material, not because the movie itself is good. In comparison to the stage show, I'm not sure a movie could ever be truly great. However, I still believe it could have been better, and Columbus failed on a lot of accounts. Updated On: 12/30/06 at 11:05 PM

[EvelynNesbit1906]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:17pm

Well, a year later I'm able to say that I've lived in New York for several months - mostly in those dirty and unsafe neighborhoods that Rent's characters insist on preserving. I'd almost be pro-Benny were it not for the fact that his gentrification efforts just made the cost of living ridiculously high ... without eliminating enough of the graffiti and trash.

Long story short: Last year I thought the film was mostly a disaster on a technical level. This year I'm no longer very fond of the source material, so I don't know that it's worth it to revisit the film in its entirety.
Updated On: 12/30/06 at 11:17 PM

[winston89]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:25pm

I don't like the movie. I love the show and have seen it time and time again. I don't like some of the choices colombus made. It did worry me a bit when he said things like he wasn't sure if he could keep in One Song Glory in cus he wasn't sure how to film it. It was things like that that made me unsure. I didn't like the casting of Rosario Dawson as Mimi. I think that her voice is VERY computerized and not good at all.

I think that the reason why Rapp stopped posting here was cus Sony set up an offical Rent blog for the movie and asked that he stop posting here so he can post there.

[almostxfamous]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:28pm

This time last year, I was in heaven. I saw the movie three times. Was in love with it. Didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Sobbed every time I watched it. Told everyone I knew to go see it.

One year later, is anything different?

Well, I bought the DVD the day it came out. It was months later. I'd spent those months falling in love with new shows, not necessarily new, but ones I hadn't known too much about before, mostly Sondheim shows. My taste in theatre seemed to have shifted dramatically.I'd fallen in love with much of the great films of the beginning of this year. I got the DVD, and watched it. REALLY watched it. I didn't sugarcoat it, loving it only because I love the music. I watched it not as a Broadway lover, but as a movie lover. Watching it for more of the acting, the shots, the authenticity. I realized that the movie wasn't as perfect as I thought it was. In fact, I was disappointed.

Since then, I haven't touched the DVD. I don't know why. I consider watching it, but never can. I've only watched it that one time. Maybe I'll revisit it in the near future, but I don't know. It's interesting to see how much I've grown in taste over the year. I still love the show, the music, the plot, yes. And the movie has that spot in my heart. But not the way it used to.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:35pm

Before I contribute to the discussion by answering the (very valid) question asked -- because I think people will probably find my answer surprising -- I want to correct an apparent misconception here. MB, the way you phrased what you said about Munk changing his post after speaking with Anthony indicates that you're lumping that in with the incidents where people felt that Anthony pressured them into changing their posts. Munk changed what he said and deleted his initial post entirely on his own accord -- not because Anthony told him to. He changed his mind, and decided to make the change before even speaking to Anthony, but nobody could believe that it was quite so simple and cried wolf about it. I was with Munk when he saw the movie for the second time as well as when he spoke with Anthony, and I can promise you on every ounce of credibility I have that even though there were people here who claim that Anthony attempted to get them to make their postings more positive, be they true or not, this was absolutely not one of them. Yes, there was controversey about Anthony's posting here interfering with what people said about the film and I know that you think Anthony's posting here was part of some conspiracy theory, but if you're going to explain what happened, please don't mix up your events. I was there; I know what happened. If you want to know more, feel free to PM me.

Also, no, Anthony hasn't posted here in a while. He did again for a short period after his Sony-imposed hiatus was up and the blogging period ended, but he's not been around in quite some time.

Anyway, on to the topic at hand.

As many remember, I loved the film at the time. I didn't think it was flawless, but I let my love for it override the flaws. And, the truth is, that I think at the time, I needed to love it... after all of that.

But as time's gone by, the things I didn't love about the film have more strongly exposed themselves to me, and I'm sort of experiencing a lot of anger (for lack of a better term) and disappointment in retrospect. I still love the film because it's Rent and I love it for its big heart and what it is, but I regard it in many ways as a missed opportunity. I think when this movie was made, Columbus, et al. had to make a decision between remaining very faithful to the stage show and creating a film adaptation of Rent -- as opposed to a film version of Rent. I don't think Columbus used all at his disposal in the medium of film. The film, to me, was sort of our opportunity to see things about these character's stories that we don't see on stage. There are so many things I wanted to see. But now we never will. And in that sense, I think Columbus sort of blew it. I think the film's spirit came from the cast, and not at all from Columbus' direction. He didn't mutilate the piece, but he couldn't have been the ideal person to do this. He did an okay job, but I'll never stop thinking of what it could've been. I keep thinking of the earlier drafts, which were so much grittier and dirtier than the version we ultimately ended up with. I don't watch the DVD nearly as much as I thought I would. I pick it up every now and then for nostalgia's sake, really. I was fine with the Goodbye Love issue until I saw the scene and realized how gorgeous it was. Once I saw it, I was mad that it didn't get put into the film. There are so many things about it that I love, and I certainly don't dislike the movie on the whole -- I never could -- but in the past year, a lot of disappointment has set in, which is pretty sad.

At the risk of being typically defensive: that said, having admitted what I just did, please don't put words in my mouth and tell me that my feelings have changed because I've let go of something irrational, or assume that I only felt the way I did because of contact with Anthony on here, or that he brainwashed me or whatever. Yes, Anthony and I spoke about the movie, but I think it's unfair to assume that anyone who admits changed opinions over time does so because they were clouded at the time due to his presence and timely inability to think freely. Minds change in simpler ways; time changes them. Like I said, feel free to PM me if you're curious enough to want to know more, but that's as complex an explanation as I'm willing to post on the boards.

Updated On: 12/31/06 at 11:35 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:35pm

No I can't say that I remember the think with Munk, is there a link to the thread anywhere?

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 12/30/06 at 11:37pm

I'm sure you could find it if you wanted to sift through the millions of Rent threads, but read my post above yours. What happened with Munk isn't related to the meltdown when Anthony had to come back in and defend himself.

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 12:00am

So I saw the movie actually about a year ago today and when I saw it, I loved it. I knew it was flawed and that it wasn't the greatest movie ever but it moved so much I was left crying in the theater as the credits rolled. Now watching it at home it still works and I am still moved. I feel that directions was the number one promise. I feel he wanted to stay so true to the show that he wouldn't change things for the movie that needed to happen. I don't know if anyone has seen this but the alternate ending is so much better cinematically than the really ending. I honestly this would have helped end better and create the mood you want to have when you leave the show.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/31/06 at 12:06am

Sadly, as much as I liked the movie, I think Rent will end up part of VH1's "Movies That Rock" along with Showgirls, Grease 2 & Rockstar.